Christian Aid Week, 15-21 May 2011

Daring to dream the impossible

Christian Aid partner Soppexcca (pronounced so-pecks-ka) is an organisation with a vision. It is passionately committed to helping poor Nicaraguan coffee farmers to beat poverty.

Ten years ago, when Soppexcca was established, this seemed impossible. But now Soppexcca is a thriving collective of small cooperatives which helps farmers produce good-quality coffee, market it and put funds back into their own communities. It works with communities to understand their needs and empowers them to make their own visions a reality.

Gustavo Adolfo Talavera, an illiterate coffee farmer, had few prospects until Soppexcca gave him a loan, allowing him to expand his farm and build a small and environmentally sound processing plant. He had a dream of his children being able to read and write, and be educated. His dream became a reality when Soppexcca helped members of the community get enough resources together, and a group of parents built a school themselves.

Ten years ago, education would have seemed an impossible dream for Gustavo. But Soppexcca is enabling his community to dream dreams – and then to do what seems to be impossible.

The Christian life sets us within a story that speaks of transformation where it seems to be impossible; where life is brought to the world. And the gospel stories are clear that life is about more than just survival. The life that Jesus speaks of is abundant life, rich with possibility and hope and promise. For people in Gustavo’s community, it’s about education and prospects.

Cooperative living is about this abundant life. It’s about seeing something achievable beyond oneself and working together to make life better for everyone. Fátima Ismael, Soppexcca’s director, says: ‘We’re not just about bread for today, but also for tomorrow. But we don’t just want bread, we want bread and honey and milk.’ People like Fátima and Gustavo are seeing the bigger picture – going beyond what seems initially achievable and working together to make it a reality.

The good news is that we can be a part of this bigger picture too. When we give our time, money and energy this Christian Aid Week, we are looking beyond ourselves and enabling others to do what seems impossible. This bigger picture is the world as it could look if we allowed the kingdom of God to be a reality, 2011if we really believed in abundant life for all. It’s the world that Jesus showed us in his life and ministry: a world where we stop living for ourselves and start living for others, a world where we don’t put limits on love and justice, a world where the concept of our neighbour is startlingly redefined.

It’s a bigger world and it’s an unsettling world. But it’s a world that allows for transformation in ways that we may never have imagined, to dream dreams and to do what people tell us is impossible. Of course it’s about transformation for people like Gustavo. But it’s also a world that offers huge transformation to ourselves and to our churches, as we place ourselves in the frame of a bigger picture where the power of love has no limits.

Christian Aid Week is a time to celebrate transformation, and an opportunity to put ourselves in the frame of God’s kingdom. Join us, and we’ll give you the resources to make the impossible happen.

Help people in poverty out of poverty

To give to Christian Aid Week, visit www.caweek.org

UK registered charity number 1105851 Company number 5171525 Scotland charity number SC039150
Northern Ireland charity number XR94639 Company number NI059154 Republic of Ireland charity number CHY 6998 Company number 426928
The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid; Poverty Over is a trademark of Christian Aid. © Christian Aid January 2011